Steve's Digicams - Breaking News - 0-360.com 02/11/2004 Press Release

0-360.com

Press Release - February 11, 2004

0-360 Panoramic Optic� Captures the World With "Just One Click!"

LAS VEGAS (PMA, BOOTH # J172), Feb. 11, 2004. 0-360.com introduced its latest product to the world of photography today at the Photo Marketing Association trade show in Las Vegas, NV. The 0-360 Panoramic Optic streamlines the process of creating a virtual tour by capturing an entire 360� view in one snapshot. This saves time and eliminates the frustration of traditional virtual tours, usually stitched together from a series of successive images. The ease of use allows the user to push the limits of tourmaking, with no additional fees. The Optic is popular among real estate professionals, who can post virtual tours of their listings with ease, as well as hotels, event venues, resorts, and a myriad of others wishing to add virtual tours to their presentations.

Quality is the bottom line with this product. The optics are all glass, including the quartzcoated front surface reflector. It is well-constructed and lightweight. The 0-360 Panoramic Optic is designed to have the field of view of a standing person, "seeing" 52.5 degrees above the horizon, 62.5 degrees below the horizon, and 360� around. This is the most accurate representation of the environment, allowing the photographer to virtually recreate the scene.

The Optic captures images with precision, but the 0-360 experience does not end at the snapshot. Users then can import the tour into Adobe Photoshop, or the company's own 0-360 UnWrapper to expand the image into a full-fledged Java or QuickTime virtual tour. The Java tour is completely customizable � it can be modified to include a logo, control bar, audio and/or textual descriptions of the tour, and a menubar that allows multiple tours to be accessed with ease.

At the Show, the company is also announcing a new service for its users. The current 0-360 software provides users with many image editing features, such as levels adjustment, brightness and contrast, hue and saturation, and sharpening. A revised UnWrapper now allows them to post the completed tours to a web server with a single click. Also accompanying this service, 0-360.com is opening its servers to its users. For a small fee, the company will allow customers without their own web sites to post their virtual tours on 0-360.com. These tours can then be linked to from emails, bulletin boards, and web pages.

Ken Simpson, 0-360.com's Vice President, said, "The 0-360 Panoramic Optic has greatly simplified the capture of virtual tour images. With our new software, we have revolutionized the production of virtual tours. Users will literally be able to shoot, process and upload a virtual tour to the web in less than one minute."

The simplicity of the 0-360 one-shot system makes dynamic virtual tours possible for the everyday user. The Optic includes a hard-shell carrying case, shoulder strap, and an accessory pouch complete with cleaning cloth and dust blower. 0-360.com provides all the software necessary to unwrap, optimize, export, and post virtual tours online.